ive got a se cab fitted with a 1.9cvh turbo lump. Its running ofab efi management at the mo,with standard injectors/boost etc. Ive looked into getting a chip for this spec and have been quoted £400 for the chip itself!! i cant justfiy paying that sort of money for a chip which isnt even tailored to my car(its a zvh map) but was told it wont be far off for the 1.9cvh setup. I just want my car to run some more boost/power so was just going to live with the zvh chip until i got told the price,and the with adding seting up on top of that!!!!!I dont want cossie management as again,it is big money involved. I keep hearing more and more about megasquirt...... I wouldnt have a clue where to start regarding mapping myself,so how easy is it to "pick up",ive also heard people meantion auto tune? and was wondering peoples personal experiences on fitting/mapping it themselves,and more importantly who would be best to speak to regarding buying it from etc etc as i need to get my car sorted asap.
Is there a way of someone being able to show pics of what to expect when looking at a "mapping screen" on their pc screen to see if id be able to work out what is needed to be understood.....as i really dont want to buy and fit it,and then look at my laptop and not have a clue what to do.........
sorry for the essay lol

 

Unfortunately the internet gives people a false sense of ability - unless you have a pretty good understanding of how engines work, what detonation is, what you're trying to achieve etc., then you'll be in a world of pain when it comes to tuning an engine. Eventually you'll probably get there, by trial and error, but you don't have a huge amount of safety margin when it comes to tuning a turbo engine and it's certainly not something you should attempt on your own (auto-tune would most likely cause your engine to let go if you used it for full throttle stuff)..

If you're on OFAB, speak to someone like Grove Garage or MSD and get a quote for what you want doing. If you can't afford £400 for a map, then I think you're going to hit far more problems in other areas!!

 

its not the being unable to afford the £400,its the point of paying £400 for something that isnt actually for my engine......,as for engines,detting etc,i understand all the areas,i just want to know a bit more about the software etc before i commit myself thats all. Also if i got the chip for ofab,id be limited if my engine decides to give up in the future,while with ms i can just change the map.
Looking ito it a bit more,ive noticed you can buy gotech for around the same price,how does ms compare to gotech?? surely gotechs better for not alot more???

 

I suggest you spend alot of time reading through the MS manuals and then read all of Stus tuning articles from FF.

You can down load the mapping software for ms off the net.

There are plenty of people that have had no prior knowledge of engine tuning but with a reasonable level of inteligence, a bit of homework and some common sense have made very succesful atempts at tuning their cars.

 

www.extraefi.co.uk - Phil is THE man for MS - one of the main designers and production engineers too, I bought my kit from him and his service is absolutely A1 - all the software and manuals are available on his site - he will make any MS ECU to order with your own chosen configuration

As said above, take a LOT of time to read the user guides etc and as many of Stu's articles as you can, it will make life easier.

What a lot of people don't realise is just how far advanced MS is now - V3 is fully 3d with closed loop capabilities and many other little features that you will usually only find on high-end ECU's, such as Launch Control, Nitrous Control and full Boost Control

For the money, it is a superb bit of kit. And if you buy from extraefi.co.uk then you get 12 months return to base parts and labour warranty

 

I can second Phils work as that is where i have bought my ms units from.

 

I will third that supplier! Simply the best in the UK.....

I feel I must say though that yes, MS does have a large featureset, but don't be fooled into thinking a lot of them are any more than "first attempts" - eg, it may work, it may not work reliably, it may not work at all.. i'm talking about things like boost control, etc.. It is a very crude ECU, HOWEVER it does and can work and running an engine very well, much better than a lot of aftermarket ECU's (eg, omex), but dont think a featureset on paper maketh an ecu!!

 

who quoted you 400quid for a chip that isnt for your car anyway?

if you go to either motorsport developments or grove garage you can get your existing management remapped perfectly to your spec as both these tuners have the right equipment to do it and are among the best in their field

 

thanks for the comments lads,i will def be looking into ms in a bit more detail..... as for who i got quoted £400 off, i dont really want to meantion names as im not really into rocking anyones boat,but they are a very well respected/known company.

 

have you rung grove or MSD yet?

 

its not a case of MS is better or worse than any other system - its simply how well the system is setup!